Vera Tripodi

Vera Cote "Jiggy" Tripodi, 94, of Ottawa, Illinois, passed away Tuesday, October 22, 2013, at LaSalle County Nursing Home. Funeral Service for Vera will be at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2013, at Ottawa Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, prior to services at Ottawa Funeral Home. Burial will be in Riverview Cemetery in Streator. Vera was born June 23, 1919, in Park Fall, Wisconsin, to Wilfred and Tena (Smalley) Cote. She graduated from high school in 1937. She then went to nursing school which became a life long interest. She married Carmelo Tripodi on December 1, 1944, in Arizona. He preceded her in death on October 19, 1992. She loved to do genealogy, taking her family history back to the 1600's. She also enjoyed needlepoint, cooking, reading, researching, flowers, homemaking, anthropology, compiling cookbooks, baking, travel, and historical family photographs. She wrote travel journals with photos over the years. She is survived by four children, Mary Latta, Lloyd (Jana) Tripodi, Diana Young, and Tom (Kim) Tripodi; seventeen grandchildren; numerous great grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Josefina Lyon; a special niece, Judy Lyon; special friends, Connie and Tim Brandow; and a special cousin, Betty Scott. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a son, John Tripodi; her son-in-law, Richard Latta; and her siblings, Lloyd Lyon, Harry Lyon, and Irene Ryan. Memorials may be directed to the family.